If you’ve ever played a JRPG from the 1990’s or one that takes inspiration from games of this era, then I would wager that you remember that game for one of two things. The incredible ultimate attacks that you can perform, or the gargantuan bosses that you’ll be using them on.
For me, boss battles are what define and punctuate a really good JRPG. Yes, characters, world design, and RPG Systems are important, but if laying the smackdown on some brute before me isn’t satisfying, you can bet on me checking out early.
The good news for Sea of Stars fans is that boss battles are plentiful throughout your adventure, and while they, as a collective, aren’t all that difficult to take down for the most part, there are a few standout fights that not only serve as incredible spectacles, but will also test your mastery of Sea of Star’s various combat systems.
You’ll have to break enemy locks regularly, understand party synergies, and know when to use all that Live Mana lying on the ground.
On this epic adventure, you’ll have more than your fair share of hurdles in the form of bosses, and we thought it would be fun to take a look at each and every one of them and offer you a comprehensive top ten, listing all the hardest boss battles in the game. So gear up and get ready, Solstice Warriors, as the eclipse is upon us. Here is Indie Game Culture’s Sea of Stars Hardest Bosses Ranked guide.
Selection Criteria
Okay, ground rules, people. We will be using a set of criteria to make sure that we aren’t just listing the battles that we thought were ‘the coolest’ or ‘had the sleekest enemy model.’ Here are the criteria that helped us collate this top ten of the hardest Sea of Stars bosses:
- We will be looking at the overall difficulty of taking down the boss based on their Stats, position in the story, and mechanics present
- We will also be looking at the attacks and locks that the enemy in question has
- We will also consider the number of fights leading up to the boss, and/or the save points present right before the fight
Okay, now that everything’s all straightened out, let’s rank some monsters!
10 – Elysan’darëlle
Location: Fleshmancer’s Lair
What? Is the final boss not even getting popped into the top three of this hardest bosses list? You bet she’s not, because she is a super underwhelming boss with a lukewarm first phase, and a second phase that doesn’t really do much to up the ante. Aside from her Pyramid attack, everything else deals woeful damage, and even if you don’t break her locks, you’ll still breeze through the fight.
Honestly, the only reason that she resides on this list at all is that her health bar is sizable, she has the potential to catch you off guard if you’re caught napping, and the battle does at least offer all the pageantry of a final gauntlet, but truthfully, if I didn’t know that there was a true final boss and a secret ending, I would have felt really short-changed.
9 – Romaya II
Location: Half Sunken Tower
I’ve listed Romaya’s second fight, because the minions that she calls upon are a lot stronger in the late-game content which involves this evil witch. However, for all intents and purposes, this fight is pretty much the exact same as the first, at least where the overall format is concerned.
The key here is to make sure you take out her undead warriors and break locks whenever you can, because dealing with three relatively powerful enemies can be tricky. However, aside from her Necromancy, her other attacks are pretty tame, so as long as you exercise crowd control, this shouldn‘t be too tasking for you.
Listing Romaya this low on the list. THE NERVE!
8 – Dweller of Dread
Location: Infinite Abyss
We continue with the Dweller of Dread, which is probably the only Dweller that puts up a decent fight in the game, as the Dweller of Torment is easy to best, and you’ll have a lot of help handling the Dweller of Woe.
You’ll find this one in Serai’s world in the Infinite Abyss, and while it does put up a fight and you’ll need to break most of the locks to stay alive, this is still a little bit underwhelming considering this is the toughest Dweller you’ll encounter in the game.
The key to this battle is taking out the two tentacles, which will then create an opening for you to really lay a smackdown on this dweller. So don’t go spending all your mana and combo notches creating this opportunity!
7 – Elder Mist II
Location: Mountain Trail
You may remember fighting the Elder Mist right at the start of the game as a test of your Solar and Lunar mastery. Well, you need to do this again as a final test of your skill after you have completed all the Solstice Chambers and returned to the Mountain Trail.
The battle is pretty much the same as the first, but what makes this one tricky is that you’ll only have Valere and Zale in your party, and you’ll have to deal with The Elder Mist’s Sword Arm, which will counter-attack every time you hit him directly.
So the key here is to attack the arm until it’s out of action, and then make the most of this opening to deplete his health. Oh, and watch out for his Torblado attack; it’s a real HP vacuum.
6 – Gun Goddess
Location: Cerulean Expanse (The Throne of the Queen That Was)
If you’re a casual Sea of Stars player, chances are that you may never encounter the Gun Goddess, as her location is shrouded in mystery and tasks the player with navigating the endless maze that is the Cerulean Expanse.
However, if you happen to listen carefully to a campfire story told by Teaks, you’ll be able to work out exactly what directions to take, leading you to this fearsome foe.
As an end-game content boss battle, many could argue that the Gun Goddess is a little bit of a letdown, because as long as you use Disorient now and again, and break most of her quite frankly easy-to-pick locks, then you’ll be fine.
The only reason that Gun Goddess almost broke into the top five is because of the difficulty tracking them down in the first place, and also the fact that, if you do let her get an attack off, you’ll see your health cut in half, or more if she has all the bullets left in play when the attack comes. All in all, a tough battle, but hardly the toughest.
5 – Meduso
Location: Lost One’s Hamlet
This is a boss that really made me work for the victory, and one of the few bosses on this list that downed my entire party more than once. Meduso is a boss that is encountered in the settlement where you find B’st, and she’s an absolute powerhouse, not only because of her strong attacks, but also because of their capacity to heal.
You need to be very calculated when planning attacks in this fight, as you’ll constantly have to break locks for the four different appendages on show, or risk having her heal up significantly, or land multiple multi-hit attacks.
The key to victory is to keep some Live Mana in play at all times, make the most of Serai’s Disorient ability, and hold combos until you really need them. Provided you can juggle the onslaught of enemy locks in play, you’ll come out on top!
4 – Croustalion
Location: Port Town of Brisk (Arena)
Just shy of a podium place is Croustalion, a gargantuan crustacean that serves as the final challenge for the Brisk Arena side quest. Unlike previous battles like Stylgian, where the fodder enemies before served as a stiffer challenge, Croustalion is a formidable foe.
The reason why this one is so tough is that you’ll have no access to items, as this is one of the rules of the Arena challenge. Plus, this demonic crab has some devastating moves that will drop your party right down to 1HP if you don’t make some savvy timed blocks.
The key to victory here is to make the most of healing magic and combos like Petrichor, Mending Light, and Warble. Plus, you need to make sure you break as many locks as you can, as any time you allow Croustalion to perform Petarade, you could be toast.
3 -The Catalyst
Location: Sky Base
The bronze medal for toughness and the ability to frustrate players goes to The Catalyst, which is the big bad you’ll find in Sky Base. The gimmick of this battle is that you’ll need to break through a couple of metal walls with turrets shielding The Catalyst, acting as a few mini-bosses before the main event. This means that before you get to them, you’ll already be a little worse for wear.
Outside of this gimmick, The Catalyst is just your typical tough boss. Lots of health, strong attacks, tough locks to break consistently. Just make sure you manage the turret attacks accordingly and rely on ultimate attacks to deal big damage.
The key here is to pack some items as a safety net, play defensively as The Catalyst is an all-out attack machine, and after about 2-3 Ultimates, you should walk away victorious.
2 – Sea Slug Reskin
Location: Sealed Docarri Chamber
Hey, remember that boss that you fought all the way back in the Forbidden Cavern? Yeah, well, the developers decided to reskin that bad boy, give it a tonne more health, and make all the attacks that were previously laughable hit like a truck.
This enemy has a number of annoying traits, such as little arthropods that will act as bombs if left alone for too long, and an attack that will have rubble fall from the ceiling, which it doesn’t telegraph at all.
The key here is to play smart by keeping live mana in play at all times, stay on your toes to make timed blocks, and when they spawn smaller fodder enemies, do your best to kill them fast.
1 – Aephorul
Location: Fleshmancer’s Lair (Secret Ending Criteria must be met)
Then, finally, and most fittingly, we have the true final boss of this game who, unlike Elysan’darëlle, is a suitable enemy for the role. Aephorul, after being antagonized by a resurrected Garl, will agree to fight you, and boy, he isn’t messing around.
Aephorul is a powerful boss with a bunch of attacks that will, for the most part, wipe out about 70% of your health in one hit, so it’s very easy to get overwhelmed if he gets on a roll. You, therefore, need to ensure that you have Live Mana available, hold your combos, and make the most of The Great Eagle Ultimate to keep him as quiet as you possibly can.
Also, be sure to make the most of having Garl back in the group by using his Nourish ability, as it’s a lot cheaper than the likes of Petrichor in terms of MP, and can serve as a get-out-of-jail-free card in this fight. Oh, and stay frosty, as there is a bullet-hell mini-game thrown into this fight for good measure.
Honorable Mentions
Then, just for fun, I thought I would mention a few cool bosses within Sea of Stars that, while not as challenging as those listed above, are pretty dang cool and deserve a brief moment in the spotlight:
- Dweller of Woe
- The World Eater
- Chromatic Apparation
- Botanical Horror
- Hydralion
- Seat of the Triumvirate Trio
Nothing a Solstice Warrior Can’t Handle
As you can see, while Sea of Stars isn’t strictly a ‘hard game’, there are a few very challenging fights that will force the player to truly master the combat system within the game, and tactically manage Live Mana, Combos, and healing opportunities accordingly.
We hope that this list gives you a good idea of the toughest battles you’ll face in this amazing RPG, and if you don’t agree with me, do let me know why in the IGC Discord, I love a good gaming argument. As always, thanks for reading Indie Game Culture.
FAQ Section
Question: How Many Bosses Are In Sea of Stars?
Answer: It depends on where you draw the line between a tough enemy and a genuine boss battle, but to my count, there are a total of thirty-one bosses, if you count Aephorul, the secret boss, too.
Question: Can You Re-Challenge Bosses?
Answer: Sadly not. You can save your game before each boss, and you’ll have three save slots to play around with. Plus, you can replay the final battle as many times as you like. However, aside from that, bosses are a one-and-done deal.
Question: Is The Sleeper A Boss In Sea of Stars?
Answer: You mean that big dragon wrapped around Sleeper Island? No, The Sleeper is actually a friend. They and Garl develop quite a bond, and is even a key component of Garl’s Ultimate Attack.
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